really..what's reality?

I'm tired of all these reality shows on TV. I don't watch them really, but I've seen a few different episodes, and they all get housed in incredible mansions, and lay around doing nothing but talking to the camera in their little "interviews". Or then there's the "reality" shows that turn out to be scripted, sort of. You know, the ones where young girls live in impossibly expensive apartments and drive ridiculous cars and work as interns (that's a non-paying job) at magazines. But you see, this is my problem with these shows -- that's not reality. Who do you know that lives like that? Here's my perspective of reality:

Reality is finding out your pregnant before you get married, and have no insurance to pay for the maternity care. Reality is finding out that since you actually do have a job, you may just be too "rich" to qualify for government aid to help you get through this tough time in your life.

Reality is working full-time while putting yourself through school, just to make a better life for yourself and your family. Reality is making too much money to get enough financial aid to cover your expensive school bill, but not enough money to pay that bill.

Reality is finding an amazing pair of shoes that were originally 90.00 in the store on sale for 19.99. Reality is buying those shoes, then taking them back, because you realized you'd be $20 short on rent for that month. Reality is cutting coupons just to save the extra five dollars, so that maybe you'd have enough money that month to rent a movie and have a date night with your spouse.

Reality is canceling your anniversaries to go to funerals. It's watching your family suffer through the death of your niece. It's watching your father suffer through pain that cannot be diagnosed, and not being able to do anything for him because you can't afford private insurance. It's watching him deal with government programs such as the VA system to provide all his health care, and seeing how it never gets anything done.

Reality is doing filthy jobs just because it pays the bills. It's not driving a Beemer around LA looking hot. It's not blowing money on designer clothes while cameras follow you around. It's doing what you have to to make ends meet. It's not quitting the one job you have until you find a better one. It's sticking with the job you have because it's better than no pay check.

Reality is living with your decisions and paying the consequences. It's frustrating to see people living with no responsibility or care for their actions. We've become a nation of no consequences. We can always pass the buck, blame someone else. It's not our fault, it's our parents ... or the person that came before. This is going to kick us in the butt sooner or later. But if we stay grounded and aware of what really is real, we should be prepared, right?

o how I hate commercials.

this is a short blog. I just think that if you pay for television, you should not have to be subjected to commercials. I hate commercials so much. If you are still watching free television with rabbit ears, than by all means, enjoy your commercials. But I pay enough each month that I should never have to watch another commercials for the rest of my life.

Rachel's Meaty Enchiladas

1 can Loma Linda Vegeburger
1 can Vegetarian Refried Beans
2 cans red Enchilada sauce
finely shredded Cheddar Cheese
Lawry's Seasoned Salt, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Garlic Power, to taste
20 corn tortillas

Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet, and add vegeburger. Season to taste with Lawry's salt, onion and garlic powder. Allow vegeburger to cook thoroughly, about 5-7 minutes. Add refried beans and allow to mix and cook. Mix in 3/4 - 1 cup enchilada sauce, and approximately 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

Microwave tortillas, stacks of 5 at a time, for 45 seconds in between damp paper towels. Fill tortillas with bean/meat mixture, roll, and place seam down in a pyrex baking dish. Cover with remainder of enchilada sauce, and sprinkle cheese over entire dish.

Bake at 375* for 15-20 minutes. Makes approximately 20 enchiladas, give or take.

i'm a little dizzy from all the propoganda::

My head is spinning today from watching all of the inaguration coverage on TV last night. There were so many different channels to choose from -- ABC, Fox News, CNN...heck, even MTV got in on the Youth Inaguration Ball (one out of the nine thrown last night). I went to bed feeling quite a bit uneasy about this new chapter of our lives. Now before you jump down my throat about how unpatriotic and disrespectful I am about our leader, understand this. I am patriotic, because I want whats best for my country. I won't say that Bush was the best, and I refuse to say that Obama is the best. I don't think McCain was a good option either. I'm just really worried about what is to come with our new leader.

Here's one thing that really blew me away, and raised red flags in my head. Americans have never been SO in love with a political leader. I've never seen news footage of practical worship of a leader as with this man. He really is the Messiah to his followers, and that is a huge problem. We cannot put so much trust and hope in one mortal human being. Sure, he hugs and kisses his wife and kids, and puts on such a good face, and his speeches blow you away. But is that all we look for now days in a leader? What about someone who truly has the experience we need to save our country. What about someone who has actually served our country in the military, who is willing to give his life for the land of the free. To hear the crowds break into chants of "OBAMA!!! OBAMA!!!" reminded me of rallies given to past leaders in history -- Castro, Mao tse tung, Hitler. WAIT! I'm not saying that Obama is a maniac who is intent on genocide. I'm just saying that worship and adoration of a leader like that can lead our country down the wrong road. When he presents a "solution" to a problem, the entire nation will blindly follow along, because he so easily speaks up front and it's so easy to get swept away. Shoot, after listening to all his speeches yesterday, I even found it easy for myself to follow along.

I'm bothered by all this socialistic terminology that is being thrown around. Everything is for "the people". "The people" want this..."the people" need that. If we don't watch out, soon we'll be calling each other comrade while standing in line for our daily bread ration.

I know this is the mainstream media we're talking about, but everyone is going on about how bad our lives were, and how much change and hope we have to look forward to. They make it sound like our lives were in complete shambles. Can we open our lives and look around at what has happened to our country?? WE WERE ATTACKED! Terrorists blew up our buildings and killed thousands of people, and we fault our president for defending our country and keeping us safe. For 8 years we've prevented further attacks, something that many people would not have been able to accomplish. Have you seen concentration camps pop up? Has there been food rations and the inability to receive nutrition? Have we been forced to stand in lines for hours just to get a loaf of bread? Come on people...think logically about all this and remind yourselves just how lucky our country really is, how blessed we all are to have the resources we have and the freedoms that we are still clinging to.

I'm just worried that America thinks we can build a utopia. We can't, and I don't think that levelheaded people should get caught up in this ideology. This is a sinful world, and we must remember that we will always have unrest, and there will not be peace until Jesus comes again. I'm just asking you to keep an open mind, and remember that no matter how wonderful all the speeches and photo ops seem, there's more behind it than meets the eye, and we need to be careful!

Common Sense Wedding Etiquette for Those Who Have None, Part 1: Bridesmaids

Let me clarify, this is for those who have neither common sense OR wedding etiquette, or both. Read on.

Ahh, weddings. Admit it, we all love them, and we all hate them. Single guys look forward to meeting beautiful bridesmaids, just to have their hopes dashed when they see all the either married or ugly girls lining up behind the bride. All the bridesmaids dread the dresses, and all the brides say the same thing, "It's such a great dress! You can shorten it and wear it after!". All the guests bring as generic a gift as they can find, and all the parents cry about how grown up their children are. Now I've only planned one wedding for myself, but I've helped many other friends plan their weddings, and watched brides plan weddings through all the blood, sweat and tears. So the things I'm sharing here are from personal experience and observation.

Here's the first thing I'd like to share. Weddings are about brides, and no one else. You would think that people know this by now, especially people who have been to multiple weddings, but it always seems to slip their minds as soon as they hear those wedding bells ringing. I don't really know what thoughts flit through their minds, but it always seems to revolve around themselves, rather than how they can help and support the bride. I believe that weddings are the one time that a girl can really be selfish. It really is all about her. Now I'm not endorsing turning into a bridezilla here. That's a little far fetched, especially the bride I saw on TV forcing her fiancee to work out at 5am for three hours a day, two weeks before the wedding in order to "get in shape", disregarding the fact that she was fatter than he was. She even stood there munching on donuts in front of him, just to irritate him. Anyway, back to topic.

Let me share a few examples with you about how to NOT make the bride's life easier. Being asked to be a bridesmaid in the wedding means you should be supportive of the bride, and it is not a time to flaunt yourself out outshine the bride. Neither is it a time to buy a dress far too small for you in order to make yourself lose weight. Chances are, you won't drop from a size 18 to a size 14 before the wedding, especially in just 3 months. And if, six weeks before the wedding, your dress (obviously) doesn't fit, it's a good time to listen to the bride and go exchange that dress for one that does fit and looks good on you. Another thing you should not do before a wedding is get tattoos or nose piercings. Especially when you mention it to the bride ahead of time and she adamantly says "Do not get a large tacky tattoo of blue hearts all over your foot and ankle, considering that you are wearing a knee-length dress to my wedding!" This is not a good time to go get a tattoo, no matter how much all those hearts and stars make you think of your bratty nieces. Same with the nose piercing. If you are just dying to pierce your nose or tattoo your foot, you can wait another six weeks until after the wedding.

Don't accept the position of a bridesmaid, and then decide that hanging out in Dallas with all your friends the weekend of the wedding is more important than being a bridesmaid. If you do choose to do this, don't show up an hour late to get dressed the morning of the wedding, thus causing everyone to be late for pictures. Also, if you chose to leave the wedding party all weekend, and show up just before the wedding, don't be offended that no one knows who you are, and no one pays much attention to you while you are getting ready. Chance are, everyone is slightly irritated that you couldn't be bothered to come and help with decorations, parties or making your own bouquet, and couldn't care less how pretty you think you are. They just wish you'd never showed up.

Don't be a bridesmaid who expects that the weekend of the wedding is a perfect opportunity to spend lots of quality time with the bride. Remember that this is the most stressful day of her life, and know that she greatly appreciates having you there by her side, and needs your support. However, her life will greatly change after this day, and she will no longer be able to just "hang with the girls". Also, you have no idea what all is going on in the brides life and mind at the time, and if she snaps your head off, she's probably more stressed than you've ever been, especially if you are single. So get over it.

Just because your husband is a groomsman, that doesn't mean you're gonna be a bridesmaid, ESPECIALLY if you barely know the bride. Don't call up the bride a couple months before the big day asking why you never got the information about the dress, even though you never received an invitation to be maid. Then, don't fly off your handle, calling the bride the meanest beyotch you've ever met, in order to attempt to get your way. Don't email the groom, telling him how he deserves better than the bride, and you really feel sorry for him because he's such a nice guy. That's a sure fire way to get yourself UNINVITED from the wedding. Then don't email the bride telling her that since you are in cosmetology school, you will do her makeup and hair for the big day. And especially if you think hot blue glitter eyeshadow is glamorous looking, don't be offended when the bride says don't come near her with a ten-foot pole.

To wrap up -- use the little bit of brain that God gave you to support the bride and groom. Realize that for just one day, the sun can shine without highlighting you. Give your all to make this day the most perfect they can imagine, and do everything you can to make the happy couple's dreams come true. Once you get started, it's really easy.

lucky charms inspire creativity.

Well, I ate my lucky charms yesterday for lunch, and now I've got all sorts of blog ideas running through my head. There MUST be a connection.

You know, I was thinking about my generation during our trip to Seattle this last Christmas, thinking about how my generation is going to have a lot of lasts. We're going to be the last generation that even remotely knows how to write properly. We're going to be the last generation that can remember land line telephones. We're going to be the last generation who actually had to WAIT to get a cell phone, until we were at least teenagers, or older even. But one thing that really stuck out to me, is that our generation may be the last to know how to read a map properly.

Nathan and I were getting our rental car (don't ever rent from Budget cars..) at the SEA-TAC airport and while checking out, the lady asked us if we wanted a Garmin GPS system with our Escape. Now, Nathan had just gone to another counter, not more than five minutes before, and picked up a city map and brought it back to the Budget counter with him. It was sitting there right in front of him, with his hand resting on it, while this lady is talking to him. Nathan and I both shook our heads, "No, we don't need a GPS". She looked shocked. How could two young whipper snappers NOT need a GPS?? I'm sure she could just imagine us not even being able to get out of the airport parking .. just driving in circles, round and round the parking garage, bemoaning the fact that we never got that GPS, and now we are so lost we can't even find our way back to the Budget counter to crawl on hands and knees to the rental agent and BEG to please give us a second chance and let us rent the GPS. Seriously, a map is so much easier. If you get lost, you just find the next road that loops around to where you need, and it gives you a birds eye view of where you're at. With a GPS system, all you can do is bite your tongue to keep from cursing the annoying woman that keeps telling you to turn around because you missed your turn. It doesn't help that you have absolutely no idea where you're at, because yes, it shows you on your screen the next road up ahead, but if you just took your beady little eyes off the screen and looked at the ROAD, you could see that next road up ahead. And if you had a map, then you could see the next five roads up ahead. Wow, how brilliant of an idea is that?

Anyway. It hit me that most people have fallen prey to Tom-Tom's, Garmins, etc. and no one buys atlases anymore. So I'm sure that when I have kids, they will think I'm weird, square and old-fashioned, when I refuse to use a GPS system, and pull out an old map. But then, instead of being disapointed for their parents being so annoyed with the TomTom that we threw it out the window, the only disappointment my kids will suffer is realizing that state don't change color once you cross the border, but rather most look the same.

...

It should ALSO be illegal to buy only one airplane seat when you are so fat that you take up half of the seat next to you, leaving the poor person who paid good money for that seat squished up against the arm rest. LADY IN SEAT 12C, YOU OWE ME 200.00!!!!